Victory in the Wilderness

In many ways the temptation of Jesus Christ was a parallel experience to the children of Israel after the nation was birthed out of Egypt.  They were baptised through the Red Sea, and Jesus was baptised in the Jordan.  They were led by the Spirit of God in the wilderness for 40 years, and Jesus was led by the Spirit into and through the wilderness for 40 days.  Though there were similarities, the contrasts are pronounced because the endurance and righteousness of Christ far exceeded the Israelites.  The children of Israel were fed by manna from heaven, water from the rock, and quail carried on the breeze – yet Jesus did not eat any food.  Days into the wilderness the Hebrews murmured against God and Moses, murmured and complained, doubted God could or would save them, and quickly rebelled against God.  Jesus remained faithful without fail and finished the season in the wilderness victorious.

Do you remember the three temptations Jesus was tempted with after being led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness?  “Turn these stones into bread,” Satan said.  Jesus responded in Luke 4:4:  "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."  The Israelites failed because  they didn’t obey God who told them to gather so much every day and to not gather on Sabbath.  God was teaching them more than how to gather food but to heed His Word.  Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said, “Bow down before me, and all will be yours.”  Jesus answered in Luke 4:8, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."  Moses left the camp for a few days to meet with God on Sinai and the people had taken a collection, crafted a golden idol, and worshipped the works of their hands.  Finally Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple and told Him to throw himself down because as it is written in Psalm 91, angels would keep him from harm.  Jesus replied in Luke 4:12, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God."  Jesus believed the Word of God and did not need to prove it to Satan by tempting God.  How many times did the Hebrews tempt God through their unbelief in the wilderness?  Having seen God’s miracles and presence they said, “Is God with us or not?" (also see Exodus 17:7, Numbers 14:22-23; Psalm 78:40-43).

Praise the LORD when God lead us through wilderness He does so with a good destination and end in mind.  What happened when the time of temptation was over for Jesus?  Angels came and ministered to Him.  What happened when the 40 years in the wilderness was over for the children of Israel?  They entered the Promised Land, saw God’s wonders, entered into His victory, and obtained an inheritance.  The trip through the wilderness was for more than reaching the end but so they would learn:  God's people do not live by bread alone, but by every word spoken by God.  God wanted His people to refuse to bow before idols and only worship the LORD their God.  God wanted them to believe His Word and cease tempting Him in their unbelief.

Do you see?  You might feel you are in a wilderness of sorts today and temptation is all around.  Spending 40 years or 40 days in the wilderness is a long time!  But know God not only wants to bring you to an awesome destination but the lessons you are learning now will help you (and others as well) to enter into and be fruitful in the place He has prepared for you.  You don’t need to leave the wilderness to discover the way of escape for temptation God has made, for His Spirit fills us wherever we are as we abide in Him by faith and walk with Him in obedience.

Dealing With Sin

Imagine if God punished us for our sins with the immediate wrath and judgment we deserve!  If God did so there would be no opportunity for repentance, redemption, or salvation.  In all these things God delights.  It is well observed in Psalm 103:8-12, "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. ⁹ He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. ¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

After being severely chastened by the LORD for seven years, a notable king's understanding returned to him.  He had this to say of God and His ways in Daniel 4:37:  "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down."  Forgiveness of sin does not mean the consequences for sin are also removed.  Aaron and Miriam murmured against Moses, and God struck Miriam with leprosy for her sin.  Moses begged God to heal her, and after seven days outside the camp she returned whole.  Uzziah's case is another story.

King Uzziah was a good king who was greatly helped by God.  Yet when he became strong his heart was lifted up with pride and transgressed by offering incense God commanded only the priests to offer.  As he offered incense, Azariah the high priest confronted him with 80 other priests.  Instead of recognising his error and repenting, Uzziah was furious.  Being lifted up with pride he would not humble himself before men, so God struck him with leprosy on his forehead.  I imagine his fierce countenance instantly changed when he saw the looks of horror on the faces of the priests coupled with the numb sensation he felt on his face.  2 Chronicles 26:20 reads, "And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him."  Uzziah slowly died of the disease, living in isolation.  His pride led him to going beyond the bounds set for him, and then ironically was unable to fulfil the calling God had upon his life.

How many times have we transgressed?  How many times have we become angry when confronted by others for our sins?  How many times have we deserved to be struck with leprosy or thrust immediately into hell for our pride and subsequent transgression!  Praise the LORD He is merciful, gracious, and slow to anger, abounding in mercy.  These qualities ought not to embolden us to sin because there are many examples of God's fearsome judgment in scripture.  Uzziah was angry at the messengers and God returned his sin - quite literally - upon his own head.  Having been purged from sin, let us not proudly walk therein.  LORD, cause me to humble myself in repentance when my sin is exposed, and especially when you use people to do it.

Responsible Teachers

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

2 Corinthians 4:1-2

The ministry of the Word is a sobering, challenging, and rewarding task for those called to it.  Bible teaching and preaching is a responsibility before God and men, for indeed we are handling the words of life.  Nehemiah 8:8 is a good example of what pastors and teachers are to do:  "So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading."  They read from the book of the Law, explained what it meant, and helped the people to see how it applied personally to their lives.

The purpose of studying the Bible is more than gathering information, but is a revelation of the Almighty God who has established all wisdom and truth.  What are some hallmarks of teachers who handle God's Word responsibly?  This is not a complete list, but responsible teachers:

• pray.  They seek the LORD during study, wait on Him for guidance, trust Him to supply wisdom and application, pray for help to deliver the message, and for people to respond.
• are led by the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit will always magnify Jesus Christ and reveal what He has said (John 16:13-15).  
• use scripture to interpret scripture in context.  People are well aware how stats can be distorted to say anything, and the same is true when the Bible is mishandled.
• apply the scripture personally.  Learning new things should never be an end in itself.  People can be "ever learning" but never grasp the truth.
• stick to the good old paths.  New "truth" often makes way for old deceptions.  God has much to reveal to those who walk in the good old way (Jeremiah 6:16) now fulfilled through Jesus who is the Way.
• do not place major emphasis on personal opinions, doubtful doctrine, or speculations.  What people do not or cannot know is hardly as important as acknowledging and practising what they do know.
• would rather be clear than clever.  God made truth simple enough for children to grasp.  Never muddle what God makes plain.
• keep the main point the main point.  The message is infinitely more important than the messenger.
• are focused on edifying the Body of Christ, not entertaining.
• draw conclusions from the text rather than using scattered passages to validate a hypothesis.
• do not take aim at people.  Responsible teacher repent themselves when convicted and trust the Holy Spirit will also transform others in His time and way.
• do not avoid controversial teaching the Bible clearly speaks on because people could potentially be offended.  Preachers do not need to be controversial to be relevant, and without controversy is the revelation of Jesus Christ throughout the Word.
• remind mature believers of what they already know.  Being reminded of things we have neglected can be just as critical to our growth and maturity as a new revelation from God.
• value God's Word as absolutely true and superior to man's ideas in every way - including their own.
• use illustrations wisely.  Spurgeon said even as a tailor puts a knot in his thread, so there should be illustrations and examples in the thread of our discourses so they will stick.  Windows bring light into a house and illustrations illuminate an important point, but never let the window be bigger than the structure.
• do not substitute emotional manipulation for the move of the Holy Spirit.  Emotions are fleeting, but God's Word will endure forever.
• live a life that agrees with their words.  Hypocrisy sours the source.

Paul wrote to a young pastor in 2 Timothy 4:1-4 an exhortation we ought to take to heart:  "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: ² preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴ and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."  People like a good story, but those who handle the word of God have much more than stories to tell.  We hold in our hands words breathed by the Spirit of the Living God, and let us ensure we study to rightly divide them and are committed to proclaiming the whole counsel of God.  May those under the sound of our voices hear sound doctrine.  This will not be enough for some, yet if the foundations of truth are forsaken who can know God and be saved?

Called By Name

I remember at 12 years old walking up to a list posted on the snack bar at Western Little League field in El Cajon.  I was elated to see my name included upon the list of "All-Stars" which would represent the league at upcoming tournaments and (should we prevail) even the Little League World Series!  It was a great honour to be an All-Star because only a select few were chosen out of the whole league.  To see my name among other players renowned for their skills which exceeded my own was humbling and a proud moment at the same time.  In retrospect I'm not exactly sure why donning that All-Star uniform and being part of a great team was so special, but it was.

Being chosen by God is a far greater honour than being selected for an All-Star team.  Should our adoption into the family of God and inclusion in His eternal plans stir up even an inkling of pride, something is dreadfully wrong.  We are often wrong and praise the LORD He reveals the truth to us through His Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  Pride is so natural and ever-present in our flesh it can be hard - no, impossible on our own - to recognise and repent.  Players were selected for the All-Star team because of their quality play, yet every Christian is a sinner chosen by the grace of God.  We worked hard to earn a starting position on a baseball team, but it is God's goodness which has drawn us to Him.

The call of Jesus has gone out to all the world, yet this inclusive call does not lessen how special each of us are in the eyes of God.  We who have been brought near by the shed blood of Jesus through faith find ourselves in exclusive company as children of God.  A wedding invitation sent out to an entire nation of people likely would not make anyone feel special for being invited.  But if the wedding invitation was sent by a notable king signed in his own blood, attending would be a priority.  Being called and accepted by God by grace is special because there is no one as great as our God.  His goodness is infinite, and His wisdom is without limit.  We who are worthy of death have been invited into the presence of the Almighty for eternity!

Little League baseball is only a memory for me now 30 years on, but the "glory days" of abiding in the presence of God will be experienced by a child of God now and forever.  I feel special to be included in that rare company not because it is an exclusive group but because of the greatness of the Saviour who has called my name.

Christ's Leading for Life

According to his website, Tony Robbins is described as a "World Authority on Leadership Psychology" and the "#1 Life and Business Strategist."  An article on his site says, "Whether you lead a Fortune 500 company or simply lead yourself as you strive to attain your goals, leadership qualities are absolutely essential to your success. It helps you surmount obstacles, take risks, and find ways to live joyfully and thrive even during the most challenging times."  The article lists six qualities to cultivate in the lives of leaders:  confidence, focus, honesty, being positive, decisive, and inspirational.  Whilst the qualities of good leaders are subjective and this is hardly an exhaustive list, they illustrate well the point:  man's concepts of leadership differ greatly from God's ways.

Allow me to illustrate from a passage of scripture when King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah were threatened by a great army.  Based upon the aforementioned list which has no mention of God, King Jehoshaphat was an obvious failure.  He did not bother to put a brave face on the threat, nor did he rally the troops with an inspirational message.  He directed the people to fast and they gathered for a prayer meeting.  This is a king with fortifications, strategists, valiant fighters, and weapons of war.  See what Jehoshaphat prayed when the nation gathered before the LORD in 2 Chronicles 20:12-13:  "O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." ¹³ Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD."

Jehoshaphat did not tell his advisers in a private meeting behind closed doors, "Gentlemen, I don't believe we have a chance."  He said "We have no power" nice and loud for everyone to hear, in front of the army, the women and children!  He said, "We have no power against this threat, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."  This is a remarkable admission!  Parents feel they must put on a bold front for their children so they will not be alarmed.  They will lie if it will make their children feel safe.  Jehoshaphat refused to do so.  As king he publicly admitted he did not have any power or resources able to save, he was totally overwhelmed, and could only look to God.  And that, I believe, is a reason why God took charge the way He did, miraculously routing the enemy the following day and brought about a momentous victory.  A hopeless and helpless leader looked to God - rather than attempting in vain to comfort the people or rally his men - and every enemy warrior was destroyed without losing a single man, woman, or child.

The best leaders are those who are led by God.  Their confidence is not in themselves or past victories but in the God who delivered their souls from death.  The godly leader's focus is not the advancing enemy or the formulation of a strategy but on the Living God who is able to save to the uttermost who cry out to Him.  Honesty before God and men is paramount, and bowing our hearts before God is the most positive step we can take in seeking His will.  We must decisively seek the LORD's directives without fear of man, for the way that seems good to a man ends in death.  Finally, Jesus Christ is to be our inspiration.  The only thing more inspiring than a person who commits themselves to God when their life is on the line is the one who faithfully lives for His glory when his life isn't at immediate risk.  That can be you and me as we follow Christ's leading for our lives.

Wrath Upon Us

The Bible often makes me think.  Whilst thinking was allegedly "a dangerous pastime" for Gaston in Disney's "Beauty in the Beast," careful thought is most necessary to read the Bible with understanding.  The Christian life often today is tragically whittled down to catch-phrases and cliches which are totally inadequate to convey God's truth contained throughout scripture.  The strides taken in producing translations for modern readers cannot reduce the complexity and necessity of sound theology.  The Bible is comprised of 66 books, and we need every single one of them for the full revelation God has provided.

I have heard people say many times "Christians are not under God's wrath," and this is true - but this hackneyed cliche doesn't tell the whole story.  It is true we are no longer under wrath because Jesus took our punishment on Calvary.  As followers of Jesus Christ through faith, we have been saved by eternal wrath by Him.  We all deserve hell, but Jesus has atoned for our sins.  The wrath of God is reserved for the wicked who will drink this cup to the dregs.  Plenty of verses back up this position.  So what is the problem?

There's no problem, but a verse I read this morning provides a condition everyone who claims absolute immunity from God's wrath ought to know.  Jehoshaphat was a godly king of Judah who was invited to a feast by the Ahab, the wicked king of Israel.  The reason for the special feast?  Ahab wanted Jehoshaphat's help to fight his enemies - enemies God likely had stirred up against Ahab to chasten him to repentance.  Because they were both children of Abraham and Israel, Jehoshaphat agreed to an alliance with Ahab to help him.  After Jehoshaphat returned safe from battle because God helped him 2 Chronicles 19:2 says, "And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you."  This verse teaches us though God has spared His faithful followers from eternal wrath, should we support evil we can unwittingly place ourselves under God's wrath.  Hopefully these words from God caused Jehoshaphat to think about supporting those who showed contempt towards God through their actions and to repent himself.

How good it is to be circumspect in our reading of God's Word and our lives!  We know we ought to love one another as God has loved us, but in helping his wicked brother Jehoshaphat was heading for judgment and a world of pain and loss.  His soul was secure but he should not have been surprised after making an alliance with wicked Ahaziah his ships sank (1 Kings 22:44-48, 2 Chron. 20:37).  I am grateful God did not give us the "Reader's Digest" version of his Word, modernised and abridged to make it easier for us to read faster.  He has held nothing back we need to know to live righteously and godly in this world, and there is no fine print or hidden charges.  The King James Version can be made plain to us by the Holy Spirit who teaches and guides us into all truth.  When we read with thought, intending to obey, God will reveal new things to broaden our understanding for the purpose of application to our lives.  Praise the LORD we are no longer children of wrath, and God-forbid through our ignorance of His Word we enter into alliances we ought to refuse and bring wrath from God upon us.

The Ride of Your Life

Following Jesus is a personal choice, and those who make the decision discover it can be a wild ride.  I remember very well as a teen my first visit to Magic Mountain, a theme-park filled with roller coasters in Valencia California.  The wildest rides I had ever ridden to that point were in Disneyland, but the Matterhorn had nothing on Revolution or Viper!  When I balked and told my friend I would rather sit a ride out, he said something to me like this:  "You're going on every single ride.  You don't have a choice.  It's going to be awesome."  I did have a choice, but his encouragement was what I needed to discover I loved roller coasters.  I had the greatest time and when new rides were built I was all in.

Roller coasters are specially engineered to safely utilise the force of gravity to thrill.  As you are secured in your seat anticipation builds as the ride slowly clinks up to the highest point.  Some find this slow ascent terrifying and audibly pray before the death-defying drop.  Are you a person who white-knuckles their way through the ride or raises your hands over your head screaming for joy?  I remember a little boy shouting with his eyes tightly shut as we rode "California Screaming" in Anaheim, "I don't like it!  I don't like it!"  After the ride is over, there are basically two responses in people new to roller coasters:  it is either, "Let's do that again!" or "I am never doing that again!"

In my life I can say following Jesus has been a lot like a roller coaster at times.  God has led me to do things I never imagined doing or wanted to do, and He has been faithful all the time.  I used to endure rides before I learned to enjoy them.  Grabbing the seat hard and gritting my teeth didn't stop the ride or make it more safe.  Letting go, raising my arms over my head, and committing myself to the experience with an aim to enjoy it was key to me running back to the front of the line to have another go.  When you choose to follow Jesus, it will be the ride of your life.  There will be waiting which seems to take forever, slow ascents and rapid descents, rushes of feelings good and painful, corkscrews and moments when everything is upside down.  But as someone who has followed Jesus for a while I say by the end, regardless of the trepidation I had when I faced new challenges and seasons, "Let's do that again."  Seeing the happy faces of people disembarking the ride gives potential anxious new riders encouragement.  I want to be one of those happy people! :)

How are you enjoying the ride Jesus has you on?  Know He has designed it especially for you and always has your safety and eternal future in mind.  You can grit your teeth all you want, but how much better it is to turn our eyes towards Him, lift our hands in praise, and commit ourselves to Him completely.  There is joy, peace, and comfort in this posture - without queasiness or a sore neck!

Approaching the Unapproachable

The apostle Paul spoke of God's glorious nature in 1 Timothy 6:15-16:  "...He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honour and everlasting power. Amen."  God is from everlasting and His power is infinite.  We cannot stare into the brightness of the sun for long without damaging our eyes, and if we attempted to draw near to this great star the heat would consume our bodies long before our feet ever touched upon the surface.  God is even more inapproachable, and though we cannot see Him the power of what He has made by the words of His mouth causes our hearts to fail.

To be summoned to appear in the court of a king would be a fearful proposition.  I was never comfortable to be called into the office by my boss when potentially my job hung in the balance:  how much more disconcerting to be called before a king who possessed power over life and death!  All he needed to do was say the word and the life of the mightiest subject was forfeit.  When evil Haman plotted the destruction of the Jews, Esther the queen was compelled by her cousin Mordecai to approach her husband Ahasuerus the king of the Medes and Persians to intercede on behalf of the Jews to expose grave injustice and bring about deliverance.  You might think, "Big deal!  She's the queen and married to the king.  She can do anything she wants!"  You would be quite wrong in that assessment, for the law said otherwise.

Esther knew the law of the Medes and Persians, and the law only condemned all in her position should she enter the court without being summoned.  She explained this in Esther 4:11:  "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden sceptre, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days."  Going before the king unannounced was an automatic death sentence.  The only exception was if the king held out the golden sceptre.  By this benevolent act the king could go above the law to save who came to him.  After three days of praying and fasting, Esther approached the king, he held out the sceptre, and the rest is history.

It is with such trepidation and soberness we approach the LORD God who has revealed Himself to us by His grace.  Under the Law we are condemned and have no hope of deliverance.  There is nothing we can bring in our hands which would cause God to accept us on our merits.  When we approach the unapproachable God humbly in faith, He has extended grace and deliverance to us through Jesus Christ.  God forbid we would see Jesus only as a friend and not first as God and King of whose presence we are most unworthy.  Esther and all the people knew the law of the Medes and Persians which could not be changed, and many people do not know the Almighty God who does not change.  He is without beginning or ending, immortal, unapproachable, to whom is honour and everlasting power.  When you pray to Him, do not barge into His presence.  Do not be presumptuous to do all the speaking.  We are only able to approach Him boldly because He has already summoned us to appear before His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Our God is a consuming fire, and at the prospect of His might our natural inclination is to run and hide.  Trying to hide from God is futile, for His light shines in all darkness and His understanding is infinite.  Let us draw near to Him in faith even as Esther did before her king.  She did not appear because she was assured of favour from the king but the urgency of her need.  God has assured all those who repent and trust in Him favour, deliverance, and salvation.  The Law which condemned us has been blotted out and nailed to the cross for good measure with our Saviour Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:13-15), and our King lives to make intercession on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25).  How glorious is it is to be known and accepted by the most high God!  Let us fall on our faces in worship, for He is worthy!

Ponder Your Path

"Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. ²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil."

Proverbs 4:26-27

In this crooked generation God's people ought to be brave pioneers of righteousness and purity, and our path is the one Jesus Christ has already established us to walk in.  In every circumstance we are directed by God to go the righteous way, for even in temptation God provides a way of escape.

We wander into trouble when we are aimless and are not circumspect concerning 1) where we have been, 2) the direction our lives are heading, and 3) our intended destination.  For this reason the wise Solomon urges those who fear the LORD and have ears to hear to ponder the path of their feet.  Mountain climbers do not reach majestic summits without a clear plan and specialised equipment.  If we do not do the equivalent of climbers who prepare their bodies for altitude and ready gear to traverse known risks which lie ahead, we will fail to reach our potential.  If we do not consider or analyse the path we take beforehand, we will likely make poor choices under pressure.

"Ponder the path of your feet," Solomon said, and we do well to consider the immediate path which lays before us.  In "Empire Strikes Back" Luke Skywalker was criticised by Yoda for being so focused on the distant and murky future he did not consider where he was or what he was doing.  Worrying about his friends and trying to save them was more important than finishing the training which would prepare him for what lay ahead and enable him to save them.  He believed he was ready when he was not ready.  At the end of the film Luke flew away to save others but needed to be saved himself in the end.  Having aligned ourselves with the will of God revealed in His Word, we find our path illuminated.  The wicked do not realise what makes them stumble in the dark.

Continuing along the highway of holiness we are to remove our foot from evil.  Jesus will never lead us into temptation, and we are held responsible to take drastic measures to remove evil influences from our lives.  Ridding ourselves of sinful temptations we know about is a key step in pondering our path and walking uprightly.  Levi Lusko wrote in his book Swipe Right, "Close the computer...walk out of the movie...delete the contact from your phone, break up with that person, change schools, or quit your job if you have to.  Pluck out the eye, cut off the hand.  Do something drastic to your sin, or sin will do something drastic to you.  I know this all sounds way intense - and maybe it is - but know that you can't have a healthy soul and mainline toxic substances." (“Swipe Right: the Life-and-Death Power of Sex and Romance.” by Levi Lusko, W Publishing, an Imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2017, p. 105.)

Having pondered our path, let us continue to progress in faith, hope, and love.  When we are tempted by other routes along the way let us ask ourselves:  where does this darkened, winding passage lead?  Know there are no shortcuts to the celestial city.  May our ways be as established as the Way God has provided for us.